Page 24 of Boyfriend From Hell

Raios led me out of the dining hall and down yet another dingy, dark hallway to a slim stairwell that we climbed in silence.

His soft grip never relented as we continued, even when we reached the door at the top.

He glanced back at me; I didn’t need to see him to know his eyes still held the earth's weight in sadness.

Why does he even care? Why would anyone like him care about someone like me? I was broken, beat down.

Each step felt like I was climbing a mountain. The last forty-eight hours––the last six months in general, had just utterly drained me. I wanted nothing more than for these feelings to disappear.

The door opened and revealed a low, warmly lit room. A giant four post bed with a black silk canopy sat in its center, surrounded by several fireplaces. A large, darkly themed painting of a broody pond with swans floating on the surface hung above each.

Déjà vu tickled me, but I shoved the feeling away. Who cared?

The room was beyond stuffy and hot, but that didn’t matter either. Maybe, if I was lucky enough, the heat would suck the remainder of my life from me. I’d die a heartbroken husk, like a shriveled up human raisin.

Raios quietly guided me through what I assumed to be his room, and sat me on the edge of the bed where he kneeled before me, running his fingers through his hair. I could tell my eyes were beyond swollen from my silent pity fest, the skin around them felt taught and dry.

“Deer, I can be the one for you,” he said, almost shyly as he rested his hands on my knees, running his thumbs along the fabric that hung loosely over them. “I am the one for you. If you allow me to be.”

“Yea, because of some twisted deal I didn’t know I was making,” I murmured, staring down at my feet.

My socks were so beat up and dirty, if I had a shred of dignity left, I’d probably feel self-conscious about them, but looking at them now felt fitting to what I felt like inside.

“No—well, yes, sort of. But no. I could have denied the deal, rejected your sorrowful calls to me. I didn’t have to go to Portland; I could have chosen anywhere between the three worlds to vacation. But I chose you. Without fully knowing you, I chose you.”

I heard Raios’ words, his confessions, but the meaning didn’t really sink in. My mind was a chaotic nest of thoughts—Felix, Gracie, how could they?

“No,” Raios said firmly. “Enough of that now.”

I wanted to sigh—I knew he was reading my thoughts, sifting through each word that rolled through my head—but I didn’t have it in me. I just wanted to let the numbing pain consume me already.

“You mortals are so hardheaded. Stubborn. I can be your happiness, little love. Please allow me to be this for you. You deserve it, no matter what you’re feeling right now. You deserve to feel cherished,” he proclaimed.

I looked at him again, his eyes were as serious as his tone, and I shrugged.

“Let me be your heaven in these fiery pits, sweet one. Let me take your pain,” he coaxed.

The intensity of his gaze nearly stole my breath, for a moment I could feel a flicker of intense affection that didn’t seem to come from me, but from what he called our ‘bond’.

“Let me take your pain,” he offered again. “Give it all to me, let me hold its weight for you so you never have to bear the burden of heartache, or betrayal, ever again.”

Take my pain? At this point if he can make these feelings vanish, by all means take it away horn-boy!

He chuckled, clearly the veil of privacy was still thinner than air.

“Why,” I croaked, my voice so small and feeble.

There was a pause in his movements as he let out a slow breath.

“Because Deer, I may be a devil but I am capable of love,” he said carefully, and the word ‘love’ settled around me like a blanket, the bond between us seemed to vibrate in a way that was impossible for me to understand.

“Forfeit your pain, little love. I can handle it. I’ll take your pain, and you stay here with me. ”

I’d forfeit the entirety of my being, if it meant I didn’t have to feel this pain anymore.

“Careful with your thoughts right now, sweet one. We’re forging a deal that stakes not just your soul, but your entire life as you know it.”

Oh. So those weren’t just sweet words.

I couldn’t help but choke out a hoarse laugh at the seriousness in his tone. It was as if we were actually wagering my soul here. I mean, sure let me ‘make a deal with the devil’. Scratch that, let me make another deal with the devil. Cue self-loathing eye roll.

“Whatever you want, I guess. What else do I have to lose? If you can take this feeling away, do it. Hell, if you’re that almighty or whatever, take away any trace of Gracie and Felix while you’re at it.

I can’t believe—” he cut me off; his lips pressed softly to mine and my eyes nearly popped out of my head.

Warmth engulfed me, an overwhelming sense of admiration and strength surged through our invisible bond and flowed into me. The tension that had begun cramping my neck eased, and I leaned into the sensation, welcoming the reprieve.

His lips were gentle against mine, each movement of them felt deliberate and downright hypnotizing. The way his tongue slipped along my bottom lip was enough to make me give in.

I leaned into the kiss, the way his mouth tasted like smoke was addicting.

His hands slid up my knees to my thighs, gathering my dress in slow, deliberate bunches until they rested firmly on my hips.

Through the invisible tether between us, I could feel his yearning, emotions screaming across the bridge that was forming between our hearts.

The pain in me dulled, as a reassuring feeling of protection––his protection––took its place.

He kissed his way down the side of my cheek and traced my jawline with the tip of his tongue, setting my skin on fire.

Each kiss took away more and more of my pain.

His lips found my neck and I couldn’t help but moan, it had been so long since someone has kissed me, let alone been intimate with me in any way.

His thumbs hooked under the bundled-up hem of my dress and caressed the tops of my thighs.

I tensed, anticipation and the need for more building within me.

“You can tell me to stop.” The words hung in the air as he placed a delicate kiss on my throat. “At any point, and I will stop.”

Not wanting that to happen, and feeling the break in woes that I had been longing for, I spread my legs slightly, in the hope that it would be enough reassurance that I wanted this.

He breathed against the column of my throat. “Such a good girl.”

I tilted my head back, hoping he would continue those delicious kisses. He took the invitation and swept his tongue up the center of my throat. It was unexpected, and hotter than anything I’d ever experienced. I tilted my hips forward, desperate for friction once more.

“Needy little thing, you are,” he purred. “How wet is that cunt of yours?”

It was like flipping a switch with him. One minute he was pissy and yelling, the next he was cooing sweet, filthy nothings at me, and now he’s asking about my wet cunt? The word—so vulgar—fell from his lips like poetry. The only thing I could think of was my need to be touched.

“Oh, my sweet nightmare, I’m going to do more than that. I’m going to savor you, every last drop of you. You will scream my name from these infernal pits; all will know you belong to me.”

God, I could come from just his words alone at this point.

I need him to touch me, but I know I’m not bold enough to make the first move.

It’s been so long, I feel like I barely know what to do anymore.

Felix and I barely ever—the name felt weird in my mind.

Almost foreign, my train of thought splintered and suddenly I was left confused about what I’d just been thinking about.

My brows pulled together.

“Stay with me sweet one.” Raios slid his thumbs up and brushed along my inner thighs, his mouth working its way deliciously down my chest to the top of my breasts.

“Listen to my voice,” he said in my mind, his tone low and sultry—it quickly smothered any fragments of confusion that lingered.

“You’re worthy of worship,” he muttered against the tops of my breasts, pushing his lips against the low-cut neckline.

I knew I was panting wildly, but I couldn’t care enough to be self-conscious about my breath. If he didn’t touch me, I might lose all sanity. I knew he could hear my thoughts; I could feel his presence in the corner of my mind.

“I need you to say it,” he groaned, as he slid his thumb up my thighs, closer and closer to my center.

“I don’t know what—” I managed to utter between breaths.

“Say that you are mine.” He bit down on the top of my breast so hard it caused me to squeal. His thumb brushed against my throbbing center, causing my breath to hitch.

“I—” I groaned, spreading my legs further for him. “Please.” I begged.

“Say it, little nightmare.”

He slid his thumb over my clit so lightly it made my head spin. I bucked my hips against the sensation, needing more pressure.

He grinned against my skin before dipping his finger around the edge of my underwear and sliding it softly along my clit. “I’m yours,” I breathed.

The words felt foreign on my tongue, like a betrayal. An image of a man flashed in my mind; his body tangled with a blond. My heart stuttered an aching beat.

“Keep saying it, don’t stop.”

His thumb slid down to my slit, swiping up and down slowly. I could feel how wet I was for him.

“Sweet one?” he prompted.

“I’m yours,” I breathed again and he slipped his thumb inside me.

He pulled away from me slightly, removing his hands from my body, leaving me feeling cold. I looked to him, worried this would be cut short again. I watched as he raised his thumb to his lips, the skin shined with my arousal as he ran his tongue over it.

Heat flushed my cheeks as his eyes locked with mine, darkening with a need that mirrored my own. “Again,” he commanded.

“I’m yours,” I repeated, the verse felt more natural in my mouth this time.

Raios wasted no time pushing his hand back to the spot between my thighs. With his thumb, he pushed my underwear to the side, then pressed a finger inside me, immediately working my pussy with slow, deliberate strokes.